Bihar Assembly Elections, First Phase: As it happened

The high-stake Bihar Assembly Elections began on Monday with voting starting at 7 am in 49 seats, spread over 10 districts, in the first of the five phases of elections.

12 October 2015

18:21 IST

57% voter turnout in the first phase of Bihar polls, says EC.

17:40 IST

In the first phase of voting, more than 50 per cent voting was recorded as polling ended at 3 PM in some of the 49 Assembly seats of Bihar.

The Election office bulletin said that a total of 50.85 per cent voting was recorded at 49 seats by 3 PM, as per PTI.

16:05 IST

Polling in four constituencies - Alauli(SC), Beldaur, Katoria (ST), Belhar -  ended at 4 pm.

15:05 IST

Voting ended at 3 pm in nine constituencies - Tarapur, Jamalpur, Suryagraha, Rajauli (SC), Govindpur, Sikandara (SC), Jamui, Jhajha and Chakai.

15:04 IST

The heavyweights in the fray today include state LJP president Pashupati Kumar Paras, BJP ally HAM state president Shakuni Choudhary and Congress leader and former Speaker Sadanand Singh.

15:02 IST

By 2 pm, around 46.37 percent of the about 13.5 million voters in the first of the five-phase balloting had voted to pick 49 legislators from among 583 candidates.

13:24 IST

Voting in 49 Assembly seats of Bihar in the first phase today picked up with over 33.13 percent polling being recorded till noon. As per the Election Office hourly bulletin, Naxal-hit Jamui saw a maximum of 40.77 percent voting till noon.

11:35 IST

27.34 percent polling recorded till 11 am in the 49 Assembly seats spread across 10 districts.

10:25 IST

Around 13 percent turnout was recorded in the first two hours of polling in 49 Assembly constituencies of Bihar in a peaceful atmosphere.

09:28 IST

Drones are being used for the first time for surveillance and about 1.20 lakh security officials, including 87,600 central paramilitary personnel, have been deployed at 13,212 polling booths.

09:06 IST

The five-phase election for the 243-seat Assembly will end on November 5. Counting will take place on November 8.

09:03 IST

Polling has been temporarily halted at Ramchandrapur booth number 86 in Sarairanjan constituency due to EVM malfunction, reports ANI.

07:45 IST

According to the Association for Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch, as many as 130 candidates in the first round of polls face serious criminal charges including murder.

07:26 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges voters to exercise their franchise in large numbers. He particularly exhorted the young voters to cast their votes.

Urging all those voting today in Bihar to vote in large numbers. I particularly urge my young friends to cast their vote.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 12, 2015

07:20 IST

Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Giriraj Singh, who cast his vote during the first phase of polling in Bihar, says the Grand Alliance will be wiped out in the state this time.

हमने अपना मतदान कर दिया ..आपने अपना मतदान किया??जरूर करे..share your pic pic.twitter.com/uiSHM5GMXx

— Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) October 12, 2015

07:10 IST

The polling, which began at 7 am, will end at 3 pm in Maoist-hit areas. 

07:05 IST

Samastipur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Nawada and Jamui districts are voting in the first phase.

07:02 IST

About 13.5 million voters are eligible to decide the fate of 586 candidates in 49 constituencies.

07:00 IST

Balloting began on Monday in the first of the five-phase Assembly Election in Bihar at 7 am.

02:50 IST

Unidentified men fired at LJP candidate Vijay Kumar Singh in Jamui constituency but he escaped unhurt. Police arrest one of the criminals involved in the attack.